One Last Adventure
by Bicycles
Summary: They are young and reckless, and maybe they both don't really know who they are or who they want to be, but that was okay. It was okay, because if all failed and they found themselves lost or alone, they could hold on to the knowledge that they were never completely alone. They would always have each other.


**Disclaimer: **Idon't own the Harry Potter series; it belongs to J. K. Rowling.

**A/N:** Written for WitAngerandBravery's Hunger Games Quote Challenge over at HPFC. This is kind of written in chronological order (present, past, present, ...) and I hope y'all enjoy my take on Teddy's and Vic's relationship. :)

* * *

**One Last Adventure**

Hot-wiring a Muggle car is a lot harder than it looks like. Especially when every panicked heart beat seems to bring you one step closer to your very own mental breakdown. It isn't like they never did anything risky before, but who would have expected leprechauns to react quite this violent when given their own medicine? Seriously, it would have been only a matter of time, before any one succeeded to beat them at their own game.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" Victoire chants, unwilling to admit defeat, even though she is all to aware that time is running out for both her and Teddy. "Shit!"

She hits the wheel of the old Ford Fiesta that was intended to their getaway car with all the force she has left in her. Of course, the car still doesn't magically budge, but it makes her feel better – if only slightly. Victoire leans back into the leather car seat, asking herself yet again when exactly she has become so terribly foolish.

_Probably around the same time, Teddy barged into her life._ The truth of that thought stings, but not as much as the feeling of failure she is experiencing right now. Not because she has failed herself, but rather because she has failed him. This is supposed to be his last big adventure before they call this little game of theirs quits, and now they are about to get into something that they both haven't bargained for. _This was supposed to be a celebration, dammit! _She should have known this plan would backfire on them from the start.

* * *

It all starts in their third year at Hogwarts. They are partners for a History of Magic project, but instead of researching the Goblin Revolution, they discover the library's collection of yearbooks. It's basically just a collection of pictures and quotes, but it keeps them entertained for hours. After a while, they start looking up members of their family. Her father Bill, who she discovers looks just like a male version of Dominique; Uncle Harry, the Boy-Who-Lived who looks nothing like the confident and authoritative man she knows today, and has been voted Most Likely To Die A Hero.

She's so immersed in laughing at her relative's awkward high school years – and has Uncle Ron really dated Lavender Brown back in the days? - she first doesn't even notice Teddy going off with his own collection of yearbooks. She finds him at their table in the back of the library, hidden among books about a revolution neither of them care about, eyes and hands glued to the picture of his teenage father.

"They've got their own page," he says instead of a greeting when she sits down next to him, opening the yearbook to another page. "The Marauders, I mean. See, that's them. Dad, Sirius, James, Peter."

The picture is old, fading, but the four Gryffindors still beam at the camera as if it's still 1977. They are so full of life, so carefree, Victoire has to avert her eyes.

"You know," Teddy starts, his voice barely above a whisper as he looks at her with so much desperation it takes her own breath away, "I would give anything to meet him. Talk to him. See if his voice is exactly as I imagine it in all my dreams. It's like this is all I have of him. Pictures and stories. Sometimes I think he was the happiest when they were still the Marauders. I wonder if we would have ended up like that, too, Uncle Harry and I."

"Teddy," she whispers, but she doesn't know what to say to him to make him feel better, so she stays quiet.

"It's just … I miss them so badly, it's as if a part of me is missing. There's something _wrong_ with me, and I know they would be able to fix me, but … I just miss them so much. Vic, how can I miss someone I never even met so bloody much?"

Teddy knows she doesn't have an answer for his question, but he still looks at her for guidance, for something, but all she can do is pull him into her arms and hold him as he cries against her shoulder.

It's the first time she sees him cry and she never felt more helpless in her life. Here she is, with her best friend, her oldest friends, clinging to her like she's the only thing that keeps him from drowning, and she can't even offer him the least bit of help.

In this moment, she feels like she failed him in the worst way possible, and out of this feeling an idea is born, so crazy and foolish she can't quite believe she is the one to come up with it.

"Maybe you won't be able to meet them personally," she says slowly, before finishing in a rush, "but that doesn't mean you can't carry on their legacy. Keep their memory alive not only in your heart, but for the whole world to see."

He frowns at her, unable to make sense of her words. "What do you mean?"

She almost wants to take her words back, but she knows she has said too much already to back out now.

"What if you would carry on their legacy in the simplest way? Hogwarts has seen it's fair share of pranksters, but the Marauders are still unrivaled. Well, Uncle Fred and Uncle George might have played in a similar league, but even they were inspired by the Marauders."

"What are you trying to say? That we should go around, acting like the new Marauders?"

"Yes. No. I mean … Isn't that the perfect way to honor them? The best years of your dad's life?"

Teddy draws in a sharp breath. "You want to go around and break the rules for a group of guys who are long since dead?"

"No, Teddy, _no_. I want to go around and break rules for your dad, and your mom," she says, her voice strong with a firm belief she herself doesn't quite understand. "For you, Teddy."

It is a horrible idea, a crazy one that doesn't even make much sense to either of them, but with every prank they pull, with every daring trick they try in the honor of the Marauders, of Moony, Teddy seems to come more alive – and for Victoire, that's all that matters.

* * *

Lost in memories, Victoire almost doesn't hear the frantic knocking at the car's window. She looks up in surprise just to find herself face to face with a smiling Teddy, golden eyes glowing with too much excitement and too much confidence. She has never seen anyone more beautiful in her life.

"What are you doing, Vic?" he all but yells at her once she opens the door. "The police is on their way, and it's only a matter of time before the Aurors take notice of leprechauns meddling in the Muggle world. In a few moments, this place will be _swarmed_!"

"Don't you think I know that?" Victoire snaps, glaring at him, even though she's mostly angry at herself. "This was a terrible idea right from the start. I should have never let you go through with it!"

Teddy just laughs. "Terrible ideas are the best kind of ideas, sweetheart. Now get out of that car. It's time for Plan B!"

"Plan B?" she asks, but grabs his hand and lets him drag her out of the car and into the cold night. "I didn't even know we had any plan to begin with."

"Well, we didn't," Teddy admits, "but between worrying about you and hiding from an angry swarm of leprechauns I had some time to think. There's really just one possible solution to this mess: flight!"

Victoire snorts. "That's not really a plan, you know. I mean, I did try to get our getaway car ready and running since magic was out of the question with my Trace still on and all, but –"

"Exactly," Teddy interrupts her rambling, the colour of his hair changing from blue to green to red and back in obvious excitement. "That's why I organized us another getaway vehicle. Uncle Harry should start putting a lock on his things."

Victoire's eyes widen and a hysterical laugh escapes her lips as they reach a parking lot. There, among battered cars, stood the gleaming motorcycle of the late Sirius Black.

"You are crazy!" she cries out as Teddy pulls her on the bike behind him. "A complete lunatic!"

"Crazy for you, maybe!" he laughs, turning the handle and letting the engine roar. "If this is our last daring escape, then let's do it with style!"

* * *

The first time Victoire sees Teddy shift into another person completely, it's completely by accident. She never told Teddy what she witnessed, and she doesn't think she ever will. It's Christmas and they spend it at the Potter's cottage. The whole place is full of people and drama, the latter caused by the constant bicker of her cousins. She finally escapes her family, finding some peace and quiet in the small forest surrounding the Potter's cottage.

Most of the trees are covered with snow and her face stings from the never-ending onslaught of fresh snow flakes. Still, she feels completely and utterly at peace. The snow give the forest an air of pure innocence that is almost blinding. She forgets all about time as she walks, lost in her own thoughts of nothing and everything at the same time. When she comes to an stop, though, it's abrupt and shocking; she isn't the only one to discover the forest is the perfect hiding spot.

Teddy sits in the middle of the clearing, leaning over the frozen surface of the small pond with so much desperation, Victoire fears he is about to drown himself. But then, as she looked closer, she realized he isn't Teddy at all. Sure, he is Teddy in the most basic of forms, but he has changed his appearance completely. His hair is sandy-colored, almost gray, and his skin is older and scarred. Only his clothes were the same, looking alien on this stranger.

It only takes her a split-second to realize that he took on the skin of his father. A clump forms in her throat as her heart calls out for the boy she has loved for longer than she herself can remember. It takes her another moment to realize that he was talking to himself, to the reflection of his father, as he leans over the frozen water. He is tense, his words barely audible but burning with anger. Quiet anger that turns into roaring rage, and even though she knows she's intruding, she can't take her eyes of him.

"WHY?" he yells, loudly and suddenly, making Victoire jump.

He is hitting the ice now, fists punching the face of a man who didn't exist anymore.

"WHY? WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME? HOW DARE YOU LEAVE ME BEHIND! WHO ALLOWED YOU TO SIMPLY _GO?"_

They're hateful words, meant to hurt and sting and break a heart, but they are filled with so much sorrow, so much desire … Victoire can barely stand his pain.

"I'm lonely, Dad," he whispers, leaning over the ice and pressing his cheek to his reflection. "I feel so alone."

It's then that Victoire cannot handle it any longer, retreating slowly until she breaks out into a run, heart beating in her chest as if it's about to explode. When she comes home, she's enveloped by her cousins' rants and fights, the smell of cakes and cookies, and the warmth of family Teddy has never really known, no matter how hard they try. Teddy joins them later on, all smile and jokes, and even though his face is his own again, Victoire can still make out the scars.

* * *

They are racing through the night, laughter and sirens filling London's air with the sound of adventure. Victoire holds on to Teddy as if he is the only connection to reality left in the world. Then again, Teddy is the only reality she needs, and if she holds on tight enough she might never lose him. Houses rush past them as Teddy drives them away from the police, the Aurors, and angry leprechauns, yelling his joy out for the whole world to hear.

Adrenaline courses through her body while they make their escape, leaving behind the city's gleaming lights for the starlit countryside. They stop in the middle of nowhere, jumping off the bike, and laughing and giggling at their own reckless insanity.

"To the mighty Marauders!" Teddy screams into the night sky, the stars reflecting in his still golden eyes.

Victoire snorts at his choice of words, bedding her head on his chest, so she can feel his heartbeat against her cheek. It's fast and strong like the man it belongs to, and she can feel her own heart matching his rhythm.

"To the mighty Marauders," she repeats, her voice soft. "And to you. Happy birthday, Teddy."

She feels him smile more than she can see him. This is more than just a celebration of Teddy's birth; it's a celebration of Nympadora and Remus Lupin who gave their lives, so that their son and every magical child could live in a world of laughter and peace.

Teddy presses his lips to her forehead, the only part of her that he dares to kiss without breaking the moment, his hand finding hers. And they exchange no words, because there is no need for them. Rather they bask in their tranquil happiness, and Victoire wishes she could freeze this moment right here, right now, and live in it forever (1). Instead she holds the moment and changes it into an ever present memory, putting it away in her heart like the treasure it is.

They are young and reckless, and maybe they both don't really know who they are or who they want to be, but that was okay. It was okay, because if all failed and they found themselves lost or alone, they could hold on to the knowledge that they were never completely alone. They would always have each other.

"Happy birthday," she says again, lifting one hand up to touch Teddy's face, drawing him closer towards her own face.

Tomorrow they would have to deal with the mess they left behind. Tomorrow they would have to explain why Teddy needed to steal Sirius' bike, why leprechauns cried for their blood, and why they had made so much fake gold, her room was still full of it.

For tonight, though, there is only them, and as their lips meet in a kiss, nothing else mattered. For tonight there was only them. Teddy and Victoire.

* * *

**A/N:** (1)The second past of this sentence is the quote from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.


End file.
